Delivery man charged for knocking schoolgirl down while riding on Bangkok sidewalk

A 23-year-old messenger was charged by police yesterday for knocking down a high school student while he was riding on the sidewalk in a rush to make a delivery in Lat Phrao district on Monday afternoon.

Puwadol Srisamrong, 23, met with the police yesterday and is facing charges of causing harm due to reckless driving, driving on the sidewalk without a reasonable cause, and driving without regard to the safety of others, Pol. Col. Suphol Khamchu of Chok Chai police said.

The delivery man gained quick notoriety yesterday after allegedly crashing his bike into 16-year-old Kulanee Chanthornwithoon while she was walking home from school with a friend around 3pm on Monday outside Lat Phrao Soi 69, according to Amarin TV.

Kulanee said in a broadcast interview that she saw a motorbike riding towards her, and the next thing she knew she was on the floor.

The student was sent to Paolo Hospital nearby with muscle inflammation. Luckily, she did not break any bones.

Meanwhile, Puwadol stated that he felt extremely guilty and waited for police at the scene. He has also visited Kulanee in the hospital to apologize.

The messenger explained that he was riding on the sidewalk in order to to make a fast delivery at the time of the incident but claimed to have learned his lesson.

“I’m really sorry. From now on I’m not going to be so careless again,” he said.

But many netizens questioned whether Thai police or other motorcyclists have learned their lesson from this accident, which triggered mass outrage on social media after Twitter user @EmaEmika shared a photo of its aftermath.

In the picture, an injured Kulanee can be seen lying on the floor surrounded by pedestrians offering aid.

“I see people driving on the sidewalk every single day. Sometimes I see police around at the same time but they don’t do anything. Why bother making it a law then?” wrote one commenter.

“I’ve even seen police driving on sidewalks. What can we expect from them?” wrote another.

This is the second time in just the last two months that a footpath motorbiker went viral. In October, famed British Grand Prix motorbike racer Scott Redding created an Instagram story bashing Bangkok motorcyclists who he filmed unapologetically riding on the sidewalk.